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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23841799">Lovers or not?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DinaS112904/pseuds/DinaS112904'>DinaS112904</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Carmen Sandiego 2019, F/M, I need more Redcrackle in season 3, I want season 3, I’m a sucker for red and blue ships, Redcrackle</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 19:33:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,503</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23841799</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DinaS112904/pseuds/DinaS112904</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Carmen bumps into Gray after her recent mission that happened to be in Sydney.And Gray properly asks her out on a date which Carmen has conflicted feelings about.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Carmen Sandiego | Black Sheep/Gray | Crackle</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>59</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Lovers or not?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Another team Carmen mission was successful.</p><p> </p><p>This time they had returned historical,carved emu eggs from an art museum in Sydney,Australia that V.I.L.E. has stolen a couple years back.And now Carmen,Ivy,and Zack were walking through the peaceful,luminous streets of Sydney together.</p><p> </p><p>“You know Carm,Australia at night is actually pretty cool.”said Ivy,as she was looking at all the lite-up billboards and city lights.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,and all I thought Australia was known for kangaroos and vegemite.”said Zack,<br/>
whose attention was on Carmen and Ivy. “You know guys,Australia has an annual festival called Vivid Sydney,it’s an event dedicated to lights,music and art.Perhaps we should check it out.”suggested Carmen slyly.</p><p> </p><p>“Ooh,can we?”Ivy asked intrigued. “Sure,in about 8 months when the festival is actually happening.”replied Carmen,then Ivy and Zack both complained about the trick Carmen had pulled.</p><p> </p><p>All of a sudden,Carmen halted herself from walking,as she saw a familiar face from across the street.</p><p> </p><p>It was Gray,sitting on a bench,admiring the calm,humid Australian weather.</p><p> </p><p>Carmen had expected to somehow see him since she was in his hometown,which was something she had been apprehensive about ever since she came to Australia again for her latest mission.</p><p> </p><p>“Uh Carmen,are you alright?”asked Zack as he and Ivy also stopped walking to see what was wrong with Carmen. “Red,is something wrong?”asked Player through Carmen’s comm-link earrings. </p><p> </p><p>Carmen was utterly speechless,because she didn’t want Graham to notice her,but at the same time,she also didn’t want to show her perturbed facial expression to Zack and Ivy. Then she finally said something.</p><p> </p><p>“Y-yeah,I’m fine guys.”she replied solemnly. “Ok red,whatever you say.”said Player again.</p><p> </p><p>“Uhh,let’s go down this road,there’s more..lights to look at.”Carmen said nervously,pointing to the other side of the sidewalk. “But why? I see a souvenir shop up ahead that I might wanna check out.”said Zack who was looking at an Australian gift shop up that was a couple yards up ahead.</p><p> </p><p>Then Gray inadvertently saw Carmen,Ivy and Zack walking his direction from his bench,wondering if his eyes were deceiving him as he looked at them bewilderedly.</p><p> </p><p>“Carmen?”he mumbled to himself,then he smiled and sat up to begin to walk over to them.</p><p> </p><p>“Zack,there are other stores to shop at,so let’s just do what Carmen wants and-”</p><p> </p><p> “Hey Carmen,fancy seeing you back here in Australia.” Gray interjected as he approached the three of them before Ivy could finish her sentence.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh um,hey Gray.” said Carmen half-nervously,since she wanted to keep her cool in front of Ivy and Zack. “Carmen,is there someone you wanna introduce us to?”asked Zack.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh right,before anyone gets confused,Zack and Ivy,this is Gray,and Gray,these are my friends Zack and Ivy.” said Carmen. “Nice to meet you guys,and I go by Graham actually,Carmen for some reason likes to call me Gray.” Gray said.</p><p> </p><p>“What can I say? He looks more like a Gray.”said Carmen as Zack and Ivy both looked at her slightly confused. “So what are you all doing here in Australia anyways?” asked Graham.</p><p> </p><p>“Uh,we had a fundraiser in Sydney this week,it just ended and we thought it’d be nice to take a walk around here.” replied Carmen,who was now at content again.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,for your charity,huh?” said Gray,winking,since Carmen had already told him that she doesn’t really do charity work the last time they saw each other. Gray also knew that Carmen is actually a part of some secret spy service,however she never specified what service.</p><p> </p><p>Then Ivy giggled,and Carmen and Zack looked at her weirdly. “Sorry,I saw someone with a funny Kangaroo shirt over there.”Ivy said, pointing to her distraction. Everyone averted their eyes to what Ivy was pointing at,which was a man passing by,wearing a cartoon kangaroo shirt.</p><p> </p><p> “Ok,well perhaps I can show you guys one of my favorite clothing stores to shop at,and it’s only 2 blocks away from here.” suggested Gray as everyone looked away from the man.</p><p> </p><p>“Sure,I’d like to see it.” said Zack. “Me too,how about you Carm?” asked Ivy.</p><p> </p><p>Carmen wasn’t sure how to respond yet,she didn’t want to be seen with Gray,at least not for so long.But Zack and Ivy agreed to Gray’s store suggestion,so didn’t have any other choice.</p><p> </p><p>“Ok,I’ll come.” Carmen said reluctantly. “Great,after you Carmen,”Gray said as Carmen walked in front of him,and everyone else followed. </p><p> </p><p>Carmen was in slight disbelief about what had just happened.</p><p> </p><p>————————</p><p> </p><p>Team Carmen and Gray were now shopping inside a small Australian clothing store.Zack and Ivy were going through the shirts, while Carmen was looking at the souvenir section. </p><p> </p><p>Gray happened to be looking in the hair product section that was nearby,then he noticed Carmen, looking dejected.,so he walked over to her.</p><p> </p><p>“What are you so sad about,mate?”asked Gray as he approached Carmen,and got her attention. “Oh,nothing,I’m fine,but thanks for asking.”said Carmen, giving him a reassuring smile,then she went back to shopping.</p><p> </p><p>Then Gray looked at her with a nervous expression, “Hey Carmen,there's something I’ve been meaning to ask you,and you totally have the right to say no,but if you say yes,don’t bail on me..again.”he said as he got Carmen’s attention again.</p><p> </p><p>“Ok,so here it goes,*exhale* there’s a new restaurant in town that I’ve been wanting to try out,but I don’t feel like going alone,so,Carmen Sandiego,I was wondering if you would like to come with me?”</p><p> </p><p>At that moment,Carmen was once again speechless from Gray,this time she really wasn’t sure how to respond back,if she said yes to the dinner, then V.I.L.E. would inevitably catch them together,which would put Gray’s safety at risk,the main reason why Carmen wanted to avoid hanging out with him.</p><p> </p><p>“You mean as a..date?” “We’ll if that’s how you want to describe it,then yeah,a date.”said Gray nervously. “So what do you say?”</p><p> </p><p>“Uh….” Carmen still didn’t know if she should say yes or no,then she turned her eyes over to a Zack and Ivy,who were still in the shirt section. “Could you give one moment please?”she asked Gray,then she walked away from him,as Gray just shrugged his shoulders.</p><p> </p><p>“Guys,I need your help.”exclaimed Carmen as she came over to Zack and Ivy. “With what?is everything ok?”asked Ivy after she and Zack stopped their shopping. “No,well at least I don’t think it’s ok,Graham just asked me...on a date.”said Carmen worryingly.</p><p> </p><p>“What?!” shouted Zack and Ivy simultaneously of excitement. “Carmen that’s huge,you just got asked out on a date! Why are you upset about that?”said Zack.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s complicated,I’ve told you guys the story about how I had a best friend named Graham,or who I liked to call Gray, back at V.I.L.E. right? Well that’s him.” said Carmen as they all looked at Gray who proceeded to look at the hair products.</p><p> </p><p>“Wait,that’s that Graham,huh? I thought he’d have blonde hair.”said Zack. Then Ivy looked at him. “Not relevant,got it.” he said as Ivy also raised her eyebrow at him. “ Anyways,somehow,he got his memory erased,most likely by V.I.L.E,and since he has a new life now,I decided not to intervene with it,because I want him to have a normal and calm life,and Carmen Sandiego would ruin all that.And even though we were unfortunately no longer friends,I still care about him,” explained Carmen.</p><p> </p><p>“Aww,that’s sweet,but did you say yes to Graham about the date?” asked Ivy. “I actually didn’t give him an answer yet,that’s why I came over here,do you think I should yes?” asked Carmen.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know Carm,I mean it’s your choice, but I would say yes,Graham seems like a good guy now,and it’s one little date,where’s the harm in that?”said Ivy. “I agree,I understand that you just wanna protect him,but you need a little break,you have been working hard lately.”suggested Zack.</p><p> </p><p>“Ok then,what about you player?”asked Carmen through her earrings again. “Well like Ivy said,it’s really up to you,but if you weren’t trying to protect his new identity,what would you say?”asked Player.</p><p> </p><p>“Well,I’m not sure,I’ve never thought of Gray as more than just a friend,he’s like a big brother to me,or he was,and it’d be kinda weird to go on a date with him.” Carmen said. “But Carmen,he doesn’t remember his time at V.I.L.E,or your past friendship,plus going on a date would be a nice way to reconnect with him,and don’t even think about it as a date,just another hangout ” said Player.</p><p> </p><p>“You do have some good points there,but Player,there’s a reason why I've been neglecting him,I-”Carmen then looked over at Gray again.She was trying to come up with a final decision to the date.A couple seconds later,she grinned at him,indicating that she made up her mind. “I’ve made a decision,thanks Player.” “Anytime,Red.”responded Player.Carmen then walked back over to Gray.</p><p> </p><p>“Gray”she said as she tapped him on the shoulder,then he turned around to face her. “I wouldn’t mind going out with you.”Carmen said looking into his eyes with appeasement.</p><p> </p><p>“Wait really? Wow I-I didn’t really expect you to say yes,so how about we meet at the restaurant tomorrow night,let’s say 6:00,unless you won’t still be in town then?” Gray contradicted.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m pretty sure I can stay an extra day,so tomorrow night it is.”said Carmen. “Sounds like a plan,here is the address to the restaurant.”said Gray as he then pulled out a small piece of paper and pen from his jacket,wrote on it,and handed it to Carmen.</p><p> </p><p>“See you tomorrow,Carmen.” Then he walked away and out of the store as Carmen,Zack and Ivy all watched him leave.</p><p> </p><p>“So,what'd you say to him?”asked Ivy as she and Zack approached Carmen. “I..said no.”replied Carmen,lying. “Aww.”said Zack and Ivy.</p><p> </p><p>“Just kidding,I said yes.”said Carmen. “Yay!” Zack and Ivy shouted with excitement as they hugged her.And Carmen reciprocated the hug back,while grinning as well. </p><p> </p><p>——————</p><p>*The next day* Gray was dressed up formally,in a black blazer with a blue collared shirt underneath,holding a bouquet of red,camellia flowers,anxiously waiting for Carmen to arrive while standing outside the new restaurant he mentioned.</p><p> </p><p>He then looked at his wristwatch to see the time,it was 5:58,and he told Carmen to meet him at 6.Two minutes until the date officially begins, “She should be getting here soon.”he mumbled to himself,as he kept looking around to see if Carmen would actually make it.</p><p> </p><p>“Gray?” asked a familiar voice from behind him. Then he turned around and saw Carmen,dressed up wearing a short,red dress,black heels,and black and gold accessories. “Wow,you look great.”said Graham smiling. </p><p> </p><p>“Here,I got you some Camellias,I would’ve got roses instead,but those are too generic,and well,a non-generic girl like you deserves non-generic flowers,if that makes any sense.”said Gray as he handed the bouquet to her.</p><p> </p><p>“I get where you’re coming from,and thank you for the flowers,they’re lovely.”said Carmen as she admiringly looked down at the flowers. “So,shall we go inside?” “We shall.”responded Gray then he opened the door of the restaurant and let Carmen go inside first,and then he alone went in.</p><p> </p><p>“And I already made a reservation,so we don’t have to worry about this place not having an empty table for us.” Gray said as he and Carmen approached the front desk. “Hello there,how may I help you tonight?”asked the hostess who has an Australian accent,since they were in Australia.</p><p> </p><p>“Um hi,I had a reservation for Graham,party of 2,for 6:00.”replied Gray distinctly. Then the hostess went through her computer she had in front of her. “Ah yes,here it is,you guys arrived just in time,follow me please.”she said as she then grabbed menus from the pile next to her.</p><p> </p><p>Carmen and Gray then followed her to their table,as they were looking all around the restaurant,examining its walls as well as the people who were also having dinner there.</p><p> </p><p>“And here you go,your waiter should be here shortly.”said the hostess as she made it to the table as Carmen and Gray sat down and she put their menus in front of them.Then the hostess walked away.</p><p> </p><p>Carmen and Gray then began to look through them,both trying to decide what they wanted to eat, after Carmen put her flowers down on the table.“Wow,this menu sure has a lot of delicious looking food,”said Carmen half-nervously as she was still looking at her menu.</p><p> </p><p>“Well,it’s nothing I’ve eaten before,I mean,it’s just normal Australian food,...hey,have you ever tried meat pies? They are so good,and no one makes ‘em like Australia does,I was thinking that we’d both get them.” Gray said enthusiastically since he saw meat pies on the menu.</p><p> </p><p>“Uh no thanks,I think I’m just gonna get the chicken parmigiana,and all yes,I have tried a meat pie before,and it was in Nigeria.”response Carmen.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,well that’s a shame,I’m pretty sure you’re gonna regret not trying one later,..unless you change your mind?”said Gray smirking.Then Carmen looked at him while having a slight smile on her face.</p><p> </p><p>“Fine,I’ll get the meat pie,just to make you stop talking about it,but only if you share the cob loaf spinach dip as an appetizer.” </p><p> </p><p>“What?! But I hate spinach,it always gets stuck in my teeth.”complained Gray. “ I’m sorry Gray,but you win some,you lose some,it only seems fair.” said Carmen slyly.</p><p> </p><p>“Cheeky,you definitely are cheeky.” said Gray softly,looking straight into Carmen’s eyes.</p><p> </p><p>————————</p><p> </p><p>Carmen and Gray had finished their dinner,and were now roaming through the streets of Sydney together.</p><p> </p><p>“Dinner was really nice,are you 100% sure I don’t have spinach stuck in my teeth?” asked Gray then he gritted his teeth to have Carmen take a closer look.</p><p> </p><p>“For the 100th time Gray,your teeth are perfectly fine,no spinach leaves got stuck in them.”replied Carmen. “I know,just making sure.”said Gray.Then he had a look of curiosity on his face.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey Carmen,why do you call me Gray?” </p><p> </p><p>“Oh um,I..just thought that it'd be a nice little nickname for Graham,why do you ask?”responded Carmen, also curious.</p><p> </p><p>“No particular reason,just wondered why you always called me Gray instead of Graham,but you know,it is a nice nickname,I’ll allow you to call me Gray more often,whatever makes you comfortable.” Gray responded back.</p><p> </p><p>“*chuckle* Ok.”said Carmen.Then she and Graham were now walking towards the bench Gray was sitting on the day before when he saw Carmen again.</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s sit down for a bit.”requested Gray as he and Carmen sat on the bench,and Carmen put the flowers Gray gave him that she was holding. Then there was a moment of awkward silence. </p><p> </p><p>“You know,I was sitting in this exact spot yesterday.”said Gray to break the silence. “It’s also the spot where I saw you and your friends just over there.”he said pointing to the location where Carmen,Ivy,and Zack were walking that was also the day before.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,y-you saw us? I didn’t notice you were sitting here.” Carmen lied reluctantly.“Carmen,don’t even try to lie to me,I know you saw me too.”said Gray.</p><p> </p><p>“You did?”asked Carmen with a worried expression. “Yep,and I think I know why you were trying to avoid me,”said Gray.</p><p> </p><p>Carmen thought that she was busted,since she assumed that Gray knew the reason why she was trying to neglect him.</p><p> </p><p>“You were nervous about your friends Zeke and Izzy meeting me for the first time,your facial expressions definitely gave that one away.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yep,you got me,that is the reason why,and their names are Zack and Ivy,I was worried that you guys wouldn’t like each other,but I guessed wrong.”said Carmen then she laughed nervously.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh yeah,I liked your friends,they’re actually quite humorous.”said Gray.</p><p> </p><p>Then the silence came back,as Carmen and Gray watched the cars of Sydney pass by,as well as people who were taking walks,or sitting down just like them.Then Gray looked at Carmen with an admired expression on his face.</p><p> </p><p>“You know Carmen,I only started hanging out with you because I thought you were cute,but after spending time with you,and being around you,and meeting you,I’ve realized that you’re an incredible person to be around,you’re smart,intuitive,caring,and you get the idea,long story short,...I like you,Carmen.”he said grinning.</p><p> </p><p>Carmen then had a mixed look of shock and disbelief.Shock because she didn’t expect Gray to confess his feelings for her,or have feelings for her,but she knew that the date insinuated that.And she was in disbelief because she’s known Gray for years,and always thought of him as just a friend,and couldn’t believe that he liked her more as just a friend,regardless of his memory being erased or not.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s...nice Gray,but...I don’t like you like that,I only think of you as a friend...I’m sorry.” she said quietly.</p><p> </p><p>Gray then had a mixed facial expression of hurt and sadness since Carmen declined his feelings for her. “If you felt that way,then why’d you say yes to the date?”</p><p> </p><p>“Because..I wanted to spend some time with you,and hopefully get to know you better,and because my friends begged me to go,but mostly the first part.”responded Carmen.</p><p> </p><p>“And I honestly didn’t think of this as a date,only a hangout between two friends,if you still wanna be friends?” </p><p> </p><p>“Of course,and I really had fun tonight.”said Gray. “Me too.” said Carmen.</p><p> </p><p>Then she took out one of the Camellias from her bouquet and handed it to Gray.Then she abruptly kissed his cheek as he looked surprised.</p><p> </p><p>“Until we meet again.”said Carmen as she stood up,picked up the bouquet,and left,as Gray astonishingly watched her leave.</p><p> </p><p>“She’s definitely a keeper.”he said contentedly,grasping onto his flower.</p><p> </p><p>Carmen was now a couple feet away from Gray and the bench,walking through Sydney once again. “So that was an interesting date,or should I even call it a date?” Player through Carmen’s earrings that she still had on.</p><p> </p><p>“It sure was something,it turns out that Gray has a crush on me,or had a crush on me since I told him I didn’t feel the same way,”said Carmen.</p><p> </p><p>“And you can consider it a date,” “Wait,Does that mean that you like Graham back?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well,let’s just say that I’m starting to look at him from a different angle,a more positive one.”Carmen said slightly smiling.</p><p> </p><p>“So you do like him back,huh?”said Player. “</p><p> </p><p>“Ok Player,I may have started to have some feelings for him,but I can’t be with him,at least not now,I have a lot going on in life,between finding my mother and my duties fighting and stopping crime,I wouldn’t even have the time for a relationship,plus I still need to protect Gray from anyone like V.I.L.E.,so that’s two reasons why I rejected his feelings.”said Carmen.</p><p> </p><p>“I get it Red,you’re a busy girl,but wouldn’t you like to settle down someday?”asked Player. “That does sound nice,and I would like to retire someday,And maybe even get married and start my own family perhaps,once V.I.L.E. is no longer a threat.”said Carmen,</p><p> </p><p>“You mean get married and start a family with Graham?”asked Player playfully. “I said maybe,and it might not even be with Gray,so don’t get too excited.”said Carmen.</p><p> </p><p>“Whatever.”said Player,as Carmen continued to walk down Sydney,thinking about her newfound liking for Gray.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading! I really adore this ship and also love the Carmen Sandiego series on Netflix.l hope we get to see more interactions between Carmen and Gray in season 3, or at least more Gray cuz he’s one of my favorite characters.Ok byee!!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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